My Core is the Boss

Half an hour later, the twelve cultivators descended into a mountain range. Countless insects flew about the lush and dense forest. Venomous snakes occasionally appeared, while other similar creatures lurked in the shadows. Ordinary people would struggle to survive here, but that was not the case for Nascent Soul cultivators.

The masked old man explained, "After discovering the entrance, I feared others would find it, so I constructed a maze formation here. Now, I shall remove it."

With a wave of his hand, a sophisticated concealment formation emerged. As he cast his techniques, the formation gradually disappeared. Many secretly speculated about his identity. Very few people in the Three Worlds possessed such expertise.

As the formation vanished, a massive sinkhole came into view, extending into what seemed like a bottomless abyss. Straight bamboo grew along its edges. Standing above it, one could faintly feel air currents rising from below, indicating the presence of oxygen.

Without hesitation, everyone flew downward. The Nascent Soul cultivators traversed the five-hundred-meter-deep sinkhole in a single breath. Soon, they reached the bottom.

The masked old man led the way. As they proceeded, numerous caves appeared around them. The elder shrank himself and entered a fist-sized tunnel. The others followed suit. The tunnel was cold, below freezing temperatures.

After roughly fifteen minutes, the masked old man came to a stop. Their field of vision suddenly widened.

"To find such a hidden place... Fellow Daoist, you truly have excellent luck," remarked one cultivator.

The masked old man said, "It is just luck. This is the gate of the ruins. Unfortunately, I cannot enter. It will require all of us working together to break through."

He waved his hand, dispelling the concealment formation over the gate. A strange glass door appeared, beautiful and distinctly futuristic. Strange symbols covered its surface, likely some sort of writing.

Qi Yuan looked over with his unique eyes.

[Star-Probing Vessel Main Gate. Produced by the Divine Han Clan. A special key is required for entry.]

He gave a pause. The architectural style was remarkably similar to the Ancestral Land from the Mortal Heart World. Curiosity appeared in Qi Yuan's eyes.

Could it be?

He had a feeling he was about to uncover the deepest secret of this game.

The masked old man smiled. "Come, everyone. Let's combine our strength and open the gate!"

His inability to open it alone indicated that his strength was insufficient. However, that could change with so many people gathered here. Everyone immediately prepared their dao techniques.

Just then, someone transmitted to the masked old man, "Old Fifth, you sure this is the artifact left behind by the ancestor? Don't make any mistakes."

"Relax. Everything is ready."

Numerous transmissions crossed back and forth. Strange expressions appeared in the eyes of six of the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators. These six were all participants in the Heaven Upheaval Plan.

The plan was to use an ancestor's secret artifact to extract all the spiritual energy from the Three Worlds and Arch Star, then relocate their sects into a massive secret realm. Naturally, they had been ecstatic when they first discovered this ruin. However, even with the combined efforts of over thirty Nascent Soul cultivators, the gate still wouldn't budge.

Later, the masked old man produced a treasure left behind by their ancestor, said to be capable of breaking any defense in existence. However, activating it required the fresh blood of at least four Nascent Soul cultivators.

That was how this plan came to be. Of the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators present, half were their allies, and the other half were their chosen victims.

As for the Violet Palace cultivator, they were not afraid. Their ancestor had been an ascended cultivator. The artifact he left behind was more than enough to deal with a Violet Palace expert. Due to how exceedingly rare it was, the others would never imagine that someone had brought a sect-defending treasure all the way to Arch Star.

Having everyone attack the gate was merely a smokescreen. After all, even twenty Nascent Souls could not break it. Adding one Violet Palace cultivator shouldn't change anything.

One Nascent Soul seemed particularly excited. "I never thought I'd get the chance to hunt a Violet Palace cultivator."

He carried a sect's treasure as well. For now, he pretended to blend in with everyone else. Once everyone exhausted themselves and lowered their guard, he would strike.

The masked old man commanded, "Everyone, attack!"

All twelve cultivators attacked. Vast spiritual energy and several dao techniques slammed into the gate, but to no avail.

The masked old man shouted, "Stop holding back and attack with everything you have!"

Realizing they could not continue concealing their strength, everyone went all out.

Qi Yuan’s eyes glimmered strangely. "If Nascent Soul power can't break it... What about Yang Spirit power?"

At that instant, Yang Spirit power erupted from his palm. His control over Dao techniques was so refined that even while acting, nobody could detect his true strength.

Boom!

The seemingly indestructible gate shattered instantly.

The fat cultivator was overjoyed. "The gate's open! Excellent!"

The masked old man felt his heart skip a beat. He found it unbelievable. Not even the slightest crack appeared after more than twenty Nascent Soul cultivators attacked together. Didn’t the gate break a little too fast? Should they still carry out the plan?

He hesitated, glancing somewhat fearfully at the Violet Palace cultivator. Is this the power of a Violet Palace cultivator?

"What do we do, Old Fifth?"

"How did the gate open? I thought it couldn't be opened?"

"That Violet Palace cultivator probably did it."

The masked old man made his decision swiftly. "Cancel the plan for now. This Violet Palace cultivator is stronger than expected. Quickly send secret messages and summon the others to ambush the exit of the ruins."

Everyone stood before the gate. No one was willing to be the first to enter.

Curiosity filled Qi Yuan's eyes. "This gate was indeed sturdy. I had to use thirty percent of my strength to break it. Looks like there really are good things inside."

The masked old man couldn't help but retort, "If not for this Violet Palace senior, we might not have entered at all."

Thirty percent of his strength? This fellow really loved taking credit for himself. If only he knew more than twenty Nascent Souls had failed!

The other cultivators thought the same. They simply refrained from exposing him as directly as the elder had.

The Violet Palace cultivator smiled. "Everyone contributed. The credit belongs to all of us. There's no need to argue over it."

Canary clung to Qi Yuan. "Husband, should we kill them all?"

There was no way she could fail to sense the killing intent of the Nascent Soul cultivators.

Qi Yuan replied, "No need. Let’s wait until all their people arrive and kill them all."

He was a Yang Spirit.[1] When these people transmitted messages, it was no different from speaking aloud.

No matter how they disguised themselves, it would still be useless. For example, among the six cultivators carrying secret artifacts, one female cultivator had extraordinarily fair skin. It was even fairer than a child.

1. For those who are confused, at the core, he is a Yang Spirit after clearing the Mortal Heart World. But in Canglan and this game, he’s still a Nascent Soul. ☜